the word market

The word market comes from the Latin word mercatus. The word mercatus continues to be used in business titles where commerce is involved. The Latin word "commercium" has a similar meaning and refers to trade, or commerce.

Asclepius vs Hermes

This story behind the word mercatus is interesting.

Here is a raw version of it.

Mercury was Mercurius to the Romans who were the initial Latin speaking people. Mercurius was the patron saint of merchants and those traders who would travel with caravans to all points from Rome within and outside of the Roman boundaries. These traders met in the mercatus.

Rome wasn't thought of until 753 BC or thereabouts. That 's when the legendary Romulus and Remus, sons of the war god Mercury, battle each other out to the death of Remus. Rome is named after Romulus and Mercurius becomes the messenger of the Gods. He may be an extension of the Greek messenger of the Gods called Hermes. Hermes carried a walking staff which becomes part of the symbol recognized as the rod of Asclepius. Hermes was also the patron of merchants, thiefs, gamblers, and travelers.

That story is equally interesting but would stray from the purpose of this post which is to find the root of the word market.

But we have already pointed to Mercatus as being a market. So all that needs to be done is to follow the trail from the initial colony of Romulus.

Rome travels and conquers and legions of soldiers are set up at posts along the way in order to protect the mercatus. Mercurius protects those who are loyal to Rome - this might explain why old statues of Mercury show him wearing a purse. It's always "rent due" somewhere. Centuries pass and the Germanic tribes set up in the north part of Europe.

Mercatus follows up by becoming words of different languages such as mercado in spanish, marchiet in old French, etc...

By approximately 1100 BC the Anglo Saxons who were by now settled on the Island of England were using the word market to refer to "a meeting at a fixed time for buying livestock and provisions". That was a quote from the online etymology dictionary. At first the word market was a noun and used in phrases like,

"off to the market"

"yo homey we got a ject fo' da market"

That last one is still used in Harlem.

By the 17th century the word market was also being used as a verb.

As in "we can market almost any thing brother".

Or the Harlem version, "that there dank be marketable homey".

It all began with snakes and the word market continues to be about snakes.

the word trade

Who invented the word trade anyways ? Trading is bartering in a sense. To exchange goods, services, and beliefs, as always been common practice.

Humans who trade are called merchants. There are all kinds of merchants of trade.

But exchanges occur everywhere in nature therefore the word trade can apply to all elements in nature. For those people who are " down to earth " their belief of what can be traded by the merchant might be limited by what can be felt by the five senses. That is to say, if you can smell it, touch it, taste it, hear it, or feel it, then you can put it up for sale and trade it as a merchant trader of things A to Z. Other people believe that there is more to nature than what can be sensed with our well developed senses. These people go beyond real and include the sixth sense and sell products that come from the psychic source.

The word trade itself is a word from the English language.

Lets try to find it's source.

The English language is a refined form of Old English.

Craeft is a word from the Old English language.

The term hyge-craeft is looked at by Diane L. Paxton in an article called Working with the Soul in the Northern Tradition. That article is interesting for a few reasons. It brings up the word tradition which is a derivative of the root word trade. It brings up the idea of merchants traders exchanging in the sixth dimension. The article states that the Norse term "hug" is the same as the Anglo Saxon term "hyge" and that hyge-craeft to the Anglo Saxons who were masters of the Old English language is the source of all magic.

To trade a hug is a very old tradition that lifts the spirit. There as to be a story there somewhere.

According to Paxton the Norse term "hug" was used to describe the psyche elements of personality, thoughts, feelings, and desire. Now that's knowledge worth something.

Hug is hag to the Swedish speaking folks. Interestingly enough this might lead to a better understanding of the term "ye ole hag". I have no proof of this but that might just be a reference to an old psychic women or a women who can psyche you out.

Moving along...hug is hyge and craeft is trade. Hyge-craeft according to Paxton is knowledge or wisdom and hug or hyge is the source of all magic.

In my opinion if craeft is trade and hyge is knowledge then the term hyge craeft refers to the exchange of wisdom and it is the exchange of wisdom gained through the study of the soul or of the universal consciousness which is the psychic source for the sixth sense. The sixth sense is paranormal and it is the source of magic.

Paxton has a much deeper version of this which goes much into holistic healing and includes the mind, body, and spirit.

Craeft according to wiktionary comes from the Germanic word Kraft and means strength. The Germanic tribes spread out and the Anglo Saxon developed old English.

Here's an interesting old English phrase that seems to support the correlation between craeft and trade.

hwaet begytst ou of oinum craefte ? According to wiktionary that translates to "What do you get by your trade ?

If that is accurate then the word trade is equal to " an exchange of strength ".

There you have my version. So go ahead and give me a hug ye old hag.

the word mortgage

Understanding the word mortgage might lead you to believe that a world rich revolves around selling debt is a morbid world.

"A la mort" to the french is "to the death" in English. In the case of mortgage in might as well read "to the debt". "Gage" to the french is "wage" or "bet" or "pledge" to the English.

"Je te gage a la mort" is to the french what " I pledge you to the death" to the English.

A mortgage is a pledge where two parties enter a contract where a deal involving money or other financial assets is resolved when the debt is paid or when some other cause breaks the contract. Death might be considered another cause in some cases.

A person, usually an investment banker or an employee of a financial institution who writes the terms of the mortgage contract is considered the underwriter or creditor or lender. This is a position of risk and requires the mortgage underwriter to proceed cautiously with who he or she enters into a deal with.

The person who is looking to enter into a mortgage contract with a creditor such as the investment banker is considered to be the borrower. The lender makes the rules of the mortgage contract usually with adherence to some regulatory body and these rules of contract may include repayment of the debt by transferring private property or other assets owned by the borrower if he or she is unable to make good on the repayment of the debt.

The mortgage contract is legally binding and is legal tender meaning that underwriters can sell the debt to other financial institutions.

This matter of selling debt to other speculators is also risky business for all involved as was witnessed when the housing bubble burst in the recent past.

To the debt we pledge to make good on our contract.

Sounds morbid but it is the meaning of the word mortgage.

There are several types of mortgages so shopping for a home and finding the best mortgage at the best rate can be a stressful matter.

When meeting with a lender the person looking for a new home might come across terms that give different meanings or different parameters to the word mortgage.

Some of these words include :

• open
• closed
• split
• multi rate
• protected variable rate
• capped variable rate
• and even mortgage insurance

Choosing the right " bet to the death" for you might save you a lot of money in the long term. Choosing the right mortgage broker who works in a solid financial institution that is just part of the home buying planning stage and it is all a part of what seems like a big morbid plan.

But it isn't.

Words are an art form. At times they are art imitating life or debt in the case of the word mortgage.

the word money

Understanding the word money will not make you rich but it will make you prosperous as you gain knowledge. I'm a wise fool and I should know since money and I quickly part.

Where does the word money come from ?

What constitutes as money ? Is gold money? Is a bond money ? Is currency money ? Most likely the reasonable answer to that is yes, yes, and yes. Each one is worth something in trade therefore each of these can be considered to be money ?

Can love be considered to be money ? Some people say love is as good as gold yet the only people who can trade love as a serious currency are considered to be amongst the lowest of life forms on the planet ? Yet the internet is loaded with sites where people sell a facsimili of love. Sex sells but is it money?

My answer is no. The act of love, or of providing sexual acts, is sometimes used to gain assets that are trade worthy and could be considered as money but they are no more than a form of barter. That is an opinion that I am certain many would challenge.

So where does the word money come from.

There was a time when the bartering system was the custom in society. This goes back a very, very long time. Imagine that you are one of the only humans to survive the last ice age. It's 11000 BC and the Holocene period is getting underway. You can come out of your cave now and when you do you find yourself meeting up with other survivors. You make connections and build bartering networks. A fair trade might mean exchanging a good flint for a fine, albeit rather aged possum. There is no consideration of money. The word is far out into the distant future yet.

You happen to be a good merchant trader in this bartering network and you have ways of stockpiling certain assets that can help you in your survival. However you become so prosperous that suddenly you have every possible necessity. Your stockpile is a surplus.

Someone approaches you with a barter opportunity. He needs some of your stock and offers you another possum in exchanges. You already have too many possums and ask him if he would consider taking a rock imprinted with his fingerprint on it as an option for a future trade. He accepts and takes his portion of your stock and walks away while leaving the rock with you. This rock gives you the right to return to him at anytime and take some of his stock worth an equal amount to the rock value.

That story isn't so far fetched.

Money started out in a similar way. At least that is how I understand money. It is a replacement to a bartering system. Money allows for the exchange of one good today which someone needs (or wants) for a symbolic coin or piece of paper that can be used in the future.

The word money possibly derives from Old French and Latin languages.

The online etymology dictionary states that the word money came about in the following way:

"from Old French, moneie, or from Latin, Moneta."

Interestingly enough the Roman Goddess Juno was given the title Moneta and it was near her temple in Rome that coins were minted. Juno Moneta was the patron saint of funds and protected such.

So there you have it.

I hope you have a better understanding of the word money.